Paralysis of Will and Revelation

“Araby” is a classic example of how James Joyce uses two literary techniques, paralysis and epiphany to give insight to his characters. In the case of “Araby,” the reader experiences the epiphany along with the character. “Eveline,” also written by Joyce, presents a similar paralysis and epiphany at the end of the story.

The story “Araby” is centered around an adolescent boy, who is smitten with a girl on his street. His affection for the girl is somewhat childish; he has never spoken to her and “yet her name was a summons to all his foolish blood.” His affection was paralyzing. He wished to speak to the girl, he wished to have a part of her heart, but he was too afraid to act on this. Instead he watched her through the blinds every morning and followed her to school.

Another instance where he is paralyzed is when she first speaks to him. He says, “When she addressed the first words to me I was so confused that I did not know what to answer.” When she asked him if he was going to Araby, he did not know whether he said yes or know. He was in a sort of trance, paralyzed with what he believed to be love. He continues to walk around in this trance in the days leading up to the event. He could not focus on his schoolwork as her image drifted between him and the page.

This state of trance leads up to the boy's epiphany at the end. He is at the bazaar, looking hopelessly for something to buy the girl. “Gazing up into the darkness, I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.” In an instant, he sees the vanity of what he is doing. He has been driven by this vanity, like a powerful force, to go to the bazaar and purchase something for the girl of his dreams. But at this moment he sees that it is pointless. It is a transparent, meaningless gesture. It meant the world to him, but the trinket meant little to the girl. He saw this and was angry at himself, angry for being driven by such vanity, angry that he ignored the girl's indifference and mindlessly wandered around under her charm.

The paralysis, epiphany sequence in “Eveline” is much shorter and possibly less dramatic. Eveline planed to run away from her abusive father and elope with a sailor whom she has been forbidden to see. Just as they were about to board a ship for Buenos Ayres, she changed her mind and stayed behind. The state of paralysis came when she was in the station. All of the sudden she was gripped with a paralyzing fear. She wandered around passively, almost unsure of what she was afraid of, and prayed to God to tell her what to do. Her lover tried to take her hand; he beckoned her to come but she stood unmoved, rigid, grasping the railing. Her epiphany is revealed in the final sentence. “Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition.” This seems to indicate that not only does she have no love for him, but she never really even knew him.

Both stories give insight into the characters, but the epiphany in “Araby” is stronger. Eveline simply had a moment doubt and realizes that she does not know or love the man she is about to run away with. However, if you look at the entire story, she never really loved him. She was excited by the danger of the relationship and grew to “like” him. The boy in Araby, on the other hand, had a revelation about himself. He was charmed by a girl. He lived under her charm for a long time, religiously peering through her window and following her to school. But in one moment, he realized that his actions were nothing but vanity. He fancied that the girl loved him in return because she accepted his promise to bring her something, but he instantly realized the hopelessness of his desires and was bitterly angry at himself for following them.